German Measles

Boy, was I sick. 

It seemed to start quickly. The night before I got sick, a woman named Candy called and asked if I would work at the snack shop at PIR. She had a last-minute cancellation from a worker and she was angry at teenagers in general. PIR stands for Portland international Raceway, and it was a couple miles from the home I grew up in. I had my food handlers’ card and rarely said no to a job, so I agreed to work the weekend. 

The next day I showed up for work and learned the routine. I was the cashier who took the orders, received payment, and brought the food to the counter for the customers. About halfway through the day I was super tired and feeling awful. I remember we had a lull in the need for snacks and did not have any customers for a few minutes, so I looked around for a place to sit. There was no place to take a break, so I hoisted myself up on the counter for a quick rest. Candy came in, saw me and started screaming, telling me how lazy teenagers are. She really scolded me, and I felt terrible about it. She was right, one really should not sit on the counter of a snack bar. Nevertheless, I don’t think it was necessary for her to scream at me or belittle me. By this time, I must’ve been pretty red, and I was very sick. It is hard to believe my boss did not notice how sick I was looking. 

After work, I walked home which was clearly a mistake, but I had no other way to get home. I remember walking up Denver Avenue, while I cried because I was so miserable. It was a sweltering day and I later discovered I had a high fever. I got home and immediately went to bed.

 The next day I went to the doctor’s office, the Greeley clinic, and while waiting for the doctor I had to lay down. He wanted me to have a blood test, so a nurse tried to draw my blood. I was quite dehydrated because I remember she poked me five times and couldn’t take a sample. I was crying and she scolded me because I was making her nervous. I am sure I was making her nervous, but I was a pretty sick kid. I was 15 or 16 years old at this time. Someone else finally came in and was able to get a blood draw. The results… German measles. 

I did have a small amount of satisfaction because my boss, Candy, the one who screamed at me, had to go to the snack shack and thoroughly disinfect it. My doctor’s office had to report it to the health department, and they found out where I had worked the previous day while I was contagious. Hopefully, nobody else got what I had. 

I was puzzled why I got the German measles. I didn’t think anybody got the German measles. It was one of those things people are vaccinated for. Years later, when I was in my late 40s, I found out I never did get routine vaccinations. None of us did. Mom and dad did not have a problem with vaccinations and there were no religious issues. We had insurance that would have covered it. No. We did not have vaccinations because and I quote “I just never got around to it” according to my mother. For my brothers and me to go to school, mom always had to fill out an immunization form with the dates of when we got our vaccinations. Every year she would just make up dates and fill in the blanks. 

This is just one sample of my life growing up. I was close to 50 when I finally received most of the vaccinations children usually get.